Thursday, December 11, 2008

Robert McGinnis' KISS KISS, BANG BANG art

One of the things I enjoy so much about Shane Black's screenplays is that his love of reading -- especially his interest in mysteries and pulp paperbacks -- always manages to cut through the gunfire, explosions and wall-to-wall wisecracks, and it's what ultimately makes his work so distinctive. You can't watch Bruce Willis as Joe Hallenbeck in THE LAST BOY SCOUT without thinking of the hardboiled private eyes of the past, while LETHAL WEAPON and THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT owe quite a bit to Warren Murphy's action series writing of the '70s. Black's directorial debut from 2005 -- KISS KISS, BANG BANG (written under the title YOU'LL NEVER DIE IN THIS TOWN AGAIN) -- is broken into chapters named after Raymond Chandler novels, but the story is based on Bodies Are Where You Find Them, one of the many Mike Shayne mysteries written by the prolific Brett Halliday. The artist most associated with Halliday's novels, Robert McGinnis, was hired to create cover art for the mock paperbacks referenced in the movie, and the four postcards below were distributed at sneak preview screenings of KISS KISS, BANG BANG. Enjoy!